microsoft outlook — Legal Practice Pro

More Ninja Moves: Quick Parts in Word and Outlook

January 5, 2011 By Deborah Savadra

You’ve probably got boilerplate texts that you use over and over and over again. (Don’t think so? Consider certificates of service, various signature blocks (contract, pleading, etc.), notary acknowledgment – you could probably compile quite a list.)

Rather than rifle through your files, pick up a prior document and copy a sample (and risk forgetting to edit “him” to “her,” etc.), set up a Quick Part in Word 2007, then use it to insert a generic version of that text whenever you need it. (This feature is very similar in Word 2010.)

Three More Outlook Ninja Tricks: Before You Hit the “Send” Button

November 22, 2010 By Deborah Savadra

As a follow-up to three right-click tricks in Microsoft Outlook, here are three more for message options you may want to use before hitting the Send button. (Note: all instructions are based on Microsoft Office 2007, but all features except “Flag for Recipient” are available in versions 2002 forward.)

Have Replies Sent To. Say, for instance, you’re sending out an email to a group asking for feedback, but you want your assistant to keep track of the responses instead of you. Use the “Have Replies Sent To” feature to re-direct any replies to your assistant’s email inbox instead of (or even in addition to) yours. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Office Technology Tagged With: do not deliver before, flag, follow up, message options, microsoft office, microsoft outlook, send replies to

Three Quick Ninja Moves For Using Microsoft Outlook

November 4, 2010 By Deborah Savadra

Microsoft Outlook For Lawyers - 3 Quick Ninja Moves

Here are three quick maneuvers you’ll want in your Outlook email bag of tricks to make managing email easier:

Right-click an email to make a Rule. If you’ve got an email in your Inbox that you always move to another folder, forward to your assistant, or do some other repetitive action with (and you don’t want to go to the trouble of creating a Rule from scratch as we discussed before), just right-click your mouse on the email as it appears in your Inbox and choose “Create Rule …” from the menu. Outlook will bring up the Rules Wizard, with several suggested rule conditions (such as the sender’s name or the email’s subject line or body content).

That makes it easier to plug in Rules as you come across emails that are good candidates for automated handling from that point forward.

Right-click an address to add it to your Contacts. Once you’ve opened an email, use this shortcut to add the sender to your Contacts: right-click on the sender’s name and choose “Add to Contacts.”

You can fill in other information for the sender (snail mail address, phone, etc.) while you’re at it. Or … not. Either way, it’s an easy way to store new email addresses for future use.

Right-click a Contacts entry to start a new email. Don’t start an email the long way by going up to the New Item drop-down, choosing New Message, opening a new mail window, and clicking To to find the email address in your Contacts. Instead, right-click on the Contact’s name and choose “New Message to Contact.” You’ll automatically get a new message form with the Contact’s email address pre-filled in.

You can also use this technique to schedule a meeting (“New Appointment with Contact” or “New Meeting Request to Contact”) or assign a task to him or her (“New Task for Contact”).

What other “one-click tricks” do you use to make short work of tasks in Microsoft Outlook? Share ‘em in the comments below.

Deborah Savadra specializes in helping law firms use Microsoft Office applications. Her blog http://legalofficeguru.com features video tutorials on solving common Microsoft Office problems. You can follow her on Twitter at @legalofficeguru.

Image credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ (Flickr)

Filed Under: Office Technology Tagged With: mail, microsoft office, microsoft outlook

How Outlook’s Out of Office Could Keep You Out of Trouble

September 28, 2010 By Deborah Savadra

The Age of the Crackberry has created a global expectation that everyone is available by email all the time. So I cringed when I read about a federal judge who banned an attorney from practicing in her district because he missed two hearings in her courtroom noticed via email. (The attorney has moved for reinstatement, pleading a death in his immediate family, followed immediately by his own cardiac scare.)

I can’t tell you how to handle these things procedurally. But here are some tools that can help ensure emergencies don’t catch you (and your practice) unaware.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Office Technology Tagged With: absences, inbox management, microsoft outlook, Out of Office Assistant, Rules & Alerts, vacation

4 Microsoft Outlook Hacks to De-Stress Your Law Practice

July 13, 2010 By Deborah Savadra

Law Firm Microsoft Outlook Hacks Just looking at your overflowing Microsoft Outlook inbox gives you a headache, doesn’t it? But the good news is, a little inbox management can go a long way toward decreasing your email-related stress. Here are four tricks (for Outlook versions 2002 through 2010) to get you some relief:

Use subfolders. The easiest way to de-stress your inbox? Move already processed emails from the inbox to appropriate subfolders. Your subfolders can be based on client, matter, project, or whatever organizational scheme makes the most sense for your practice.

To create a subfolder, make sure your Inbox is selected, then click on the File menu and select Folder, then New Folder. Name the folder and click OK to finish.

Flag emails for follow-up. Don’t let yourself forget to reply to or re-read that important email! Use flags to remind you to follow up.

You can either right-click on the message in version 2002 and 2003 and choose Follow-Up (the resulting dialog box will allow you to choose from a list of appropriate actions, like Follow-Up, Read, or Forward), or click the Quick Flag on the right-hand column of the message (versions 2007 and 2010) and choose when you want to be reminded with a pop-up.

[Read more...]